Somali pirates hijack Saudi oil tanker

[sugarpop]

So we just allow them to keep kidnapping people and ships and holding them for ransom? Damn. Maybe I should move to Somalia and become a pirate. Dread Pirate Jazzy, that be me name. arg.

[tw]

Originally Posted by sugarpop

So we just allow them to keep kidnapping people and ships and holding them for ransom?

Show me where you and I are being harmed? Why are those at risk not demanding more protection? A problem still so trivial that they will not even do simple solutions such as convoys.

Ship owners are happy to have additional protection provided for free. Risk so small that insurance rates remain low (even with the increased rates). Why would you advocate curing a problem for others who do not consider the problem significant? Or should we unilaterally impose our will anywhere we 'feel' rather than wait to be desired?

If this was a significant problem, then shippers would have organized into convoys long ago. They will not even do that. Once we eliminate the hype of piracy, well, those who are at risk do not consider that risk significant. Fixing other's problems when even they don't see a problem - how to become the "Ugly American" - as demonstrated by the book.

So many want to arm ships with heavy weapons when the shippers themselves have yet to implement even rudimentary solutions such as convoys. Long before applying solutions, maybe we should first wait for them to need a solution. Shippers currently view this only as a business expense.